Midweek Review

The need for a holistic approach and restructuring of system

Published

4 years ago

2022/03/2

Dr. Amarasekara receiving his D. Lit

Speech delivered by Dr. Gunadasa Amarasekara after receiving his D. Lit from the University of Peradeniya, last week.

Let me first thank you for bestowing this honour on me, which I accept with gratitude and humility. I am grateful to the Dental Faculty for sponsoring it.

On this occasion in spite of my penchant for ideological and philosophical wrangling, I thought of speaking on something more down to earth, something which is relevant to the problems we as educationists and university lecturers are facing at the moment. Hence the topic, ‘The need for a Holistic Approach and a Restructuring of the System’. My observations are mainly to stimulate your thinking, and make you think outside the box. And, if you find them worthy of consideration it is left to you, who are more knowledgeable, to use them to formulate the envisaged model that is needed.

At the moment, I see a concerted effort by the education authorities to incorporate a knowledge of the basic sciences as well as the latest technical knowledge, technical skills and Information Technology to the universities, especially to the field of Humanities.

To put it in other words, it is an attempt to get a student following the Arts/Humanities to pursue a course in Biology or Mathematics, and a student following a course in Science to follow a course in History or Literature, and both groups to imbibe the latest technical knowledge offered by the Technological Revolution that has come into being.

Whether this is being proposed with a holistic perspective in mind to produce an enlightened graduate who could contribute to the intellectual, cultural life of the society, or to produce an employable graduate in demand is not clear at the moment.

It is most likely prompted by a desire to produce an employable graduate who will not turn out to be a rebel, an anarchist, or a threat and also, to prevent those insurgencies of the past that were centered round the universities. It is natural that the Arts graduate who faces a blank future with no hope in sight should resort to violence to vent his frustration and agony. We are lucky that so far this frustration is being channeled into the streets and not to violence against the establishment.

Even if the restructuring is prompted by a self -centered impulse it must be welcome.

This reminds me of a personal experience I underwent some time ago. It was in 1987 during the JVP insurrection. I was abroad at the time and very keen to know what was happening in the country. With my eyes glued to the television to see what was happening especially in the universities I could see the terrible mayhem, the terrible tragedy, the torture that was inflicted on the youth especially at Peradeniya. The picture of those decapitated heads lined up round that pond made me utterly sick, filling me with a deep sense of guilt.

When I came back, I was interviewed by a Week-end Sinhala weekly and was asked what remedial measures I could suggest to prevent such a tragedy happening in the universities. My response was an irrational and emotional outburst. ’There is no need to continue with these universities any longer. They have provided a breeding ground for those youth to be turned into rebels and insurgents. All these universities must be closed down, we must go back to the situation that was there prior to the establishment of these universities. We must have a Medical College to provide the number of doctors needed for the country, we should have an Engineering school to provide the necessary number of engineers, we must resurrect the Technical Colleges to provide the technicians necessary for the country. It is an unaffordable luxury to have residential universities to produce unemployable Arts graduates. If there is a need to teach Humanities, we could have a number of Open Universities to cater for that need.’

Mine was no doubt an irrational and emotional outburst. But I think it contained a kernel of truth; the restructuring programme that the State has initiated today is there in that kernel.

I think if this restructuring is to be a success it must start from the school level and not from the University level. The universities should carry on the restructuring process initiated at school level.

At the moment we have two major streams after O levels – an Arts stream and a Science stream. Those who follow the Science stream study subjects such as Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biology and none of the Arts subjects they studied at O levels. The same happens with those who follow the Arts stream; none of the subjects they had studied as Mathematics, and Environmental studies are followed by the Arts stream. There is a complete separation; this separation and compartmentalisation should cease, there should be only one stream at the Advanced levels. The Science stream student offering Science subjects for Advanced Levels should offer an Arts subject such as History or Literature. The same applies to the Arts student, while offering Arts subjects he/she must offer a subject like Mathematics or Biology.

This trend should be continued at the University level. At the same time the technological knowledge and skills introduced at the University level should be considered as Applied Science, and not as something unrelated to science which they had learnt. If we want to impart technical knowledge unrelated to science, we need no universities to perform that function, we could have Technical Schools such as the German Technical School. (We could consider our own Technical Colleges as against the German Technical School).

The demand for incorporating Technology into the University curriculum is being adhered to by the universities of the West at the moment. They seem to have realised the inadequacy of the classical model to cater to the present- day needs. The Fourth Industrial Revolution- the Technological Revolution seems to have awakened them. However, this has brought about a controversy about the place that Technology should occupy in the University Curriculum.

Professor Aaron Garre in his remarkable work, Post Modernism and Environment addresses his mind to the dilemma faced by the universities. This is what he has to say. “Associated with these developments universities are fundamentally transformed , thoroughly corrupted by the publish or perish syndrome, and by the pressure to lower standards to accommodate the higher proportion of young people going on to higher education, they are being reduced to extensions of High Schools and Technical Colleges, valued by governments only in so far as they provide people with vocational training or produce technological knowledge, and by students only to increase their earning power. Arts and Science Faculties have lost status within universities with good reason”.

Let this not happen to our universities.

The emphasis on technology and technological skills, IT, etc., at the expense of scientific knowledge is bound to generate a warped idea regarding science. It may make the youth consider science not as a source of knowledge, a way of understanding the world, an indispensable way of thinking but as a means to an end, the end being to create a world dominated by gadgetry which will relieve the youth from thinking and creativity and make life more comfortable and make more money as suggested by Prof. Garre.

Such a concept could be detrimental to a ‘Third World’ country like ours, which has not experienced the Industrial Revolutions and the expansion of scientific knowledge of the West. This may reinforce the idea of science as ‘pattapal boru’ in the minds of our youth.

I believe, this idea of a holistic approach devoid of compartmentalisation of knowledge is not something new to us. In the Pirivena universities we had, they maintained this holistic approach.

There is a mistaken belief amongst us that these Pirivenas were religious centres, and their main function was to propagate Buddhism. Far from it; they were centres of learning and also intellectual and cultural centers, and the Heads of these were advisers to the rulers and also representatives of the people. I am sure you are aware of the triangular relationship that existed among the king, the Sangha and the people-the Asokan model of governance we inherited with Buddhism.

One of the foremost Pirivenas was the Vijayaba Pirivena of the 15th century headed by the great Thotagamuwe Sri Rahula .

This was pointed out to an international community of scholars by Arunachalam Ponnambalam when he addressed that gathering at the Calcutta university in 1916.This was the observation he made at that conference. “Long before the emergence of universities in the Western world in the 18th century we had in our country, in the 15th century, a great seat of learning, a university of international fame at Thotagamuwa headed by poet Sri Rahula”.

An examination of the curriculum followed at the Vijayaba Pirivena shows how it resembles the curriculum of the present-day universities of the West. The disciplines that were followed consisted of Asian languages such as Sinhala, Tamil, Siamese and Burmese, Buddhist Philosophy and Indian Philosophy, Logic, Poetics, Literature, Medicine, Legal Studies, and Surya Siddhantha consisting of Astronomy, Astrology and Mathematics. A student was expected to pursue a number of diverse disciplines without confining himself to one.

Even the vedamahattaya of today is not only a doctor but a scholar and an intellectual who guides the thinking of the villagers. I believe he is a product of a lost tradition.

It is this knowledge that was imparted by these Pirivenas that enabled our engineers to achieve those engineering marvels as the Bisokotuwa of the great reservoirs, the Yoda Ela with a gradient that has baffled modern day engineers and those great dagobas-examples of unique architecture. The builders of those dagobas surely would have been aware of the gravitational forces long before Newton discovered them.

One may well ask ‘what happened to that knowledge? Why did that knowledge fail to achieve the level of scientific knowledge achieved by the West?’

This question has been asked and answered by Joseph Needham in dealing with science in China, on which he has produced ten volumes. He believes that it was capitalism in the Western world that caused the expansion of scientific knowledge which was not relevant to the Chinese who had opted out of capitalism. This is probably the answer we too can offer. Professor Needham’s observation that Capitalism is unavoidable for the progress of science has been proven wrong by the China of today. It has shown how a feudal state can skip the capitalist phase in its march towards great scientific achievements. It is no secret that the Chinese civilisation based on Confucius and Taoist Buddhism and our own civilisation based on Theravada Buddhism abhor capitalism as kamasukallikhanuyoga,

inimical to human happiness.

I feel, that this attempt to restructure the university curriculum is not an innovative move as such but an attempt to go back to our own tradition as pointed out by me.

At the present moment I feel that in addition to the restructuring of our university curriculum, there is a need to restructure our training programmes in the fields of Medicine, Dentistry and even Engineering. I will confine myself to my own field of Dentistry.

At the moment there is a great demand for Medicine and Dentistry. Over thousands seek admission to the Dental Faculty. Most of them have the required qualifications, but only about 10% of them are able to gain admission. This is by no means a healthy situation; it creates frustration and envy in those who fail to get in. This could be avoided by restructuring the system.

We take five years to produce a Dental Surgeon, we see to it that he/she is not second to a Dental Surgeon in a highly developed Western country. After that long and arduous training he/she is sent out to perform a function which could be done without that exhaustive training. Isn’t that underutilisation of manpower as well as a sheer waste of the tax payer’s money? Consequently, the Dental surgeon himself is unhappy, and seeks to come to the urban centre where he could use his knowledge and skills to make more money or to migrate to a foreign country where he can make dollars instead of rupees.

The result of this procedure can be seen by looking at those rural peasants on the television screen. Most of them are toothless by the age of fifty, their oral hygiene is putrid, some of them harbour precancerous lesions in their mouths. I think oral cancer still occupies the first place in the list of our cancers. This is in spite of the fact that we have a first-class Dental Faculty here in Peradeniya and the best Dental hospital in South Asia in Colombo. Isn’t there something wrong in the whole process? Only callous disregard for humanity prevents us from seeking a remedy for this sorry state of affairs.

I have over the years thought of a scheme to remedy this situation. I will present an idea of the scheme I envisage.

There will be three stages. In stage 1 we take in almost all the students who have fulfilled the qualifications and are eligible.

All of them should be sent to the periphery after two years’ training; they will provide the necessary treatment required by the rural masses. In addition to being clinicians they will perform the duties of dental health workers as well. In Stage 11 out of that thousand or so, 25% will be selected for further training. They will be given three years’ training, the kind of training that is given today at the Dental Faculty. In Stage 111 out of that 25%, 10% will be recruited for Specialist training as required by the country. What I have presented is the bare outline of the restructuring process I envisage. What is important is that all these should enjoy the same social status irrespective of the position they occupy. Such a scheme would be absolutely necessary if we are to overcome the present state of affairs for the proper utilisation of man power and finances. It will also fulfill the ambitions of those thousands who seek admission to the Dental Profession.

Of course, this kind of thinking is radical. It calls for systems that have been taken for granted to be turned around.

This restructuring scheme I have presented has an ideological basis; it is village-based, with the village occupying centre stage.

The present scheme we have is urban-based with the city occupying centre stage. That is what the colonial masters wanted it to be. We have only been tinkering with it and not attempted to change it. It is time we realise this and reverse this order of things. This country is still a collection of villages, 70 % of our population still live there. The village is still the pivot of our existence, which we will soon realize with the present fertiliser fiasco when we find there is no rice on our plate.

A holistic approach combined with such a restructuring process will not only produce an enlightened graduate and a humane professional but also an intelligentsia across the country who will lift us from the morass we are in and liberate us from the tyranny of the power- hungry self-seeking politician who has ruined this country.

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Features

Handunnetti and Colonial Shackles of English in Sri Lanka

Published

4 days ago

2025/12/10

Thilina Walpola

Handunetti at the World Economic Forum

“My tongue in English chains.
I return, after a generation, to you.
I am at the end
of my Dravidic tether
hunger for you unassuaged
I falter, stumble.”
– Indian poet R. Parthasarathy

When Minister Sunil Handunnetti addressed the World Economic Forum’s ‘Is Asia’s Century at Risk?’ discussion as part of the Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2025 in June 2025, I listened carefully both to him and the questions that were posed to him by the moderator. The subsequent trolling and extremely negative reactions to his use of English were so distasteful that I opted not to comment on it at the time. The noise that followed also meant that a meaningful conversation based on that event on the utility of learning a powerful global language and how our politics on the global stage might be carried out more successfully in that language was lost on our people and pundits, barring a few commentaries.

Now Handunnetti has reopened the conversation, this time in Sri Lanka’s parliament in November 2025, on the utility of mastering English particularly for young entrepreneurs. In his intervention, he also makes a plea not to mock his struggle at learning English given that he comes from a background which lacked the privilege to master the language in his youth. His clear intervention makes much sense.

The same ilk that ridiculed him when he spoke at WEF is laughing at him yet again on his pronunciation, incomplete sentences, claiming that he is bringing shame to the country and so on and so forth. As usual, such loud, politically motivated and retrograde critics miss the larger picture. Many of these people are also among those who cannot hold a conversation in any of the globally accepted versions of English. Moreover, their conceit about the so-called ‘correct’ use of English seems to suggest the existence of an ideal English type when it comes to pronunciation and basic articulation. I thought of writing this commentary now in a situation when the minister himself is asking for help ‘in finding a solution’ in his parliamentary speech even though his government is not known to be amenable to critical reflection from anyone who is not a party member.

The remarks at the WEF and in Sri Lanka’s parliament are very different at a fundamental level, although both are worthy of consideration – within the realm of rationality, not in the depths of vulgar emotion and political mudslinging.

The problem with Handunnetti’s remarks at WEF was not his accent or pronunciation. After all, whatever he said could be clearly understood if listened to carefully. In that sense, his use of English fulfilled one of the most fundamental roles of language – that of communication. Its lack of finesse, as a result of the speaker being someone who does not use the language professionally or personally on a regular basis, is only natural and cannot be held against him. This said, there are many issues that his remarks flagged that were mostly drowned out by the noise of his critics.

Given that Handunnetti’s communication was clear, it also showed much that was not meant to be exposed. He simply did not respond to the questions that were posed to him. More bluntly, a Sinhala speaker can describe the intervention as yanne koheda, malle pol , which literally means, when asked ‘Where are you going?’, the answer is ‘There are coconuts in the bag’.

He spoke from a prepared text which his staff must have put together for him. However, it was far off the mark from the questions that were being directly posed to him. The issue here is that his staff appears to have not had any coordination with the forum organisers to ascertain and decide on the nature of questions that would be posed to the Minister for which answers could have been provided based on both global conditions, local situations and government policy. After all, this is a senior minister of an independent country and he has the right to know and control, when possible, what he is dealing with in an international forum.

This manner of working is fairly routine in such international fora. On the one hand, it is extremely unfortunate that his staff did not do the required homework and obviously the minister himself did not follow up, demonstrating negligence, a want for common sense, preparedness and experience among all concerned. On the other hand, the government needs to have a policy on who it sends to such events. For instance, should a minister attend a certain event, or should the government be represented by an official or consultant who can speak not only fluently, but also with authority on the subject matter. That is, such speakers need to be very familiar with the global issues concerned and not mere political rhetoric aimed at local audiences.

Other than Handunnetti, I have seen, heard and also heard of how poorly our politicians, political appointees and even officials perform at international meetings (some of which are closed door) bringing ridicule and disastrous consequences to the country. None of them are, however, held responsible.

Such reflective considerations are simple yet essential and pragmatic policy matters on how the government should work in these conditions. If this had been undertaken, the WEF event might have been better handled with better global press for the government. Nevertheless, this was not only a matter of English. For one thing, Handunnetti and his staff could have requested for the availability of simultaneous translation from Sinhala to English for which pre-knowledge of questions would have been useful. This is all too common too. At the UN General Assembly in September, President Dissanayake spoke in Sinhala and made a decent presentation.

The pertinent question is this; had Handunetti had the option of talking in Sinhala, would the interaction have been any better? That is extremely doubtful, barring the fluency of language use. This is because Handunnetti, like most other politicians past and present, are good at rhetoric but not convincing where substance is concerned, particularly when it comes to global issues. It is for this reason that such leaders need competent staff and consultants, and not mere party loyalists and yes men, which is an unfortunate situation that has engulfed the whole government.

What about the speech in parliament? Again, as in the WEF event, his presentation was crystal clear and, in this instance, contextually sensible. But he did not have to make that speech in English at all when decent simultaneous translation services were available. In so far as content was concerned, he made a sound argument considering local conditions which he knows well. The minister’s argument is about the need to ensure that young entrepreneurs be taught English so that they can deal with the world and bring investments into the country, among other things. This should actually be the norm, not only for young entrepreneurs, but for all who are interested in widening their employment and investment opportunities beyond this country and in accessing knowledge for which Sinhala and Tamil alone do not suffice.

As far as I am concerned, Handunetti’s argument is important because in parliament, it can be construed as a policy prerogative. Significantly, he asked the Minister of Education to make this possible in the educational reforms that the government is contemplating.

He went further, appealing to his detractors not to mock his struggle in learning English, and instead to become part of the solution. However, in my opinion, there is no need for the Minister to carry this chip on his shoulder. Why should the minister concern himself with being mocked for poor use of English? But there is a gap that his plea should have also addressed. What prevented him from mastering English in his youth goes far deeper than the lack of a privileged upbringing.

The fact of the matter is, the facilities that were available in schools and universities to learn English were not taken seriously and were often looked down upon as kaduwa by the political spectrum he represents and nationalist elements for whom the utilitarian value of English was not self-evident. I say this with responsibility because this was a considerable part of the reality in my time as an undergraduate and also throughout the time I taught in Sri Lanka.

Much earlier in my youth, swayed by the rhetoric of Sinhala language nationalism, my own mastery of English was also delayed even though my background is vastly different from the minister. I too was mocked, when two important schools in Kandy – Trinity College and St. Anthony’s College – refused to accept me to Grade 1 as my English was wanting. This was nearly 20 years after independence. I, however, opted to move on from the blatant discrimination, and mastered the language, although I probably had better opportunities and saw the world through a vastly different lens than the minister. If the minister’s commitment was also based on these social and political realities and the role people like him had played in negating our English language training particularly in universities, his plea would have sounded far more genuine.

If both these remarks and the contexts in which they were made say something about the way we can use English in our country, it is this: On one hand, the government needs to make sure it has a pragmatic policy in place when it sends representatives to international events which takes into account both a person’s language skills and his breadth of knowledge of the subject matter. On the other hand, it needs to find a way to ensure that English is taught to everyone successfully from kindergarten to university as a tool for inclusion, knowledge and communication and not a weapon of exclusion as is often the case.

This can only bear fruit if the failures, lapses and strengths of the country’s English language teaching efforts are taken into cognizance. Lamentably, division and discrimination are still the main emotional considerations on which English is being popularly used as the trolls of the minister’s English usage have shown. It is indeed regrettable that their small-mindedness prevents them from realizing that the Brits have long lost their long undisputed ownership over the English language along with the Empire itself. It is no longer in the hands of the colonial masters. So why allow it to be wielded by a privileged few mired in misplaced notions of elitism?

Features

Finally, Mahinda Yapa sets the record straight

Published

4 days ago

2025/12/10

Thilina Walpola

Clandestine visit to Speaker’s residence:

Finally, former Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena has set the record straight with regard to a controversial but never properly investigated bid to swear in him as interim President. Abeywardena has disclosed the circumstances leading to the proposal made by external powers on the morning of 13 July, 2022, amidst a large scale staged protest outside the Speaker’s official residence, situated close to Parliament.

Lastly, the former parliamentarian has revealed that it was then Indian High Commissioner, in Colombo, Gopal Baglay (May 2022 to December 2023) who asked him to accept the presidency immediately. Professor Sunanda Maddumabandara, who served as Senior Advisor (media) to President Ranil Wickremesinghe (July 2022 to September 2024), disclosed Baglay’s direct intervention in his latest work, titled ‘Aragalaye Balaya’ (Power of Aragalaya).

Prof. Maddumabandara quoted Abeywardena as having received a startling assurance that if he agreed to accept the country’s leadership, the situation would be brought under control, within 45 minutes. Baglay had assured Abeywardena that there is absolutely no harm in him succeeding President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, in view of the developing situation.

The author told the writer that only a person who had direct control over the violent protest campaign could have given such an assurance at a time when the whole country was in a flux.

One-time Vice Chancellor of the Kelaniya University, Prof. Maddumabandara, launched ‘Aragalaye Balaya’ at the Sri Lanka Foundation on 20 November. In spite of an invitation extended to former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the ousted leader hadn’t attended the event, though UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe was there. Maybe Gotabaya felt the futility of trying to expose the truth against evil forces ranged against them, who still continue to control the despicable agenda.

Obviously, the author has received the blessings of Abeywardena and Wickremesinghe to disclose a key aspect in the overall project that exploited the growing resentment of the people to engineer change of Sri Lankan leadership.

The declaration of Baglay’s intervention has contradicted claims by National Freedom Front (NFF) leader Wimal Weerawansa (Nine: The hidden story) and award-winning writer Sena Thoradeniya (Galle Face Protest: System change for anarchy) alleged that US Ambassador Julie Chung made that scandalous proposal to Speaker Abeywardena. Weerawansa and Thoradeniya launched their books on 25 April and 05 July, 2023, at the Sri Lanka Foundation and the National Library and Documentation Services Board, Independence Square, respectively. Both slipped in accusing Ambassador Chung of making an abortive bid to replace Gotabaya Rajapaksa with Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena.

Ambassador Chung categorically denied Weerawansa’s allegation soon after the launch of ‘Nine: The hidden story’ but stopped short of indicating that the proposal was made by someone else. Chung had no option but to keep quiet as she couldn’t, in response to Weerawansa’s claim, have disclosed Baglay’s intervention, under any circumstances, as India was then a full collaborator with Western designs here for its share of spoils. Weerawansa, Thoradeniya and Maddumabandara agree that Aragalaya had been a joint US-Indian project and it couldn’t have succeeded without their intervention. Let me reproduce the US Ambassador’s response to Weerawansa, who, at the time of the launch, served as an SLPP lawmaker, having contested the 2020 August parliamentary election on the SLPP ticket.

“I am disappointed that an MP has made baseless allegations and spread outright lies in a book that should be labelled ‘fiction’. For 75 years, the US [and Sri Lanka] have shared commitments to democracy, sovereignty, and prosperity – a partnership and future we continue to build together,” Chung tweeted Wednesday 26 April, evening, 24 hours after Weerawansa’s book launch.

Interestingly, Gotabaya Rajapaksa has been silent on the issue in his memoirs ‘The Conspiracy to oust me from Presidency,’ launched on 07 March, 2024.

What must be noted is that our fake Marxists, now entrenched in power, were all part and parcel of Aragalaya.

A clandestine meeting

Abeywardena should receive the appreciation of all for refusing to accept the offer made by Baglay, on behalf of India and the US. He had the courage to tell Baglay that he couldn’t accept the presidency as such a move violated the Constitution. In our post-independence history, no other politician received such an offer from foreign powers. When Baglay stepped up pressure, Abeywardena explained that he wouldn’t change his decision.

Maddumabandara, based on the observations made by Abeywardena, referred to the Indian High Commissioner entering the Speaker’s Official residence, unannounced, at a time protesters blocked the road leading to the compound. The author raised the possibility of Baglay having been in direct touch with those spearheading the high profile political project.

Clearly Abeywardena hadn’t held back anything. The former Speaker appeared to have responded to those who found fault with him for not responding to allegations, directed at him, by revealing everything to Maddumabandara, whom he described in his address, at the book launch, as a friend for over five decades.

At the time, soon after Baglay’s departure from the Speaker’s official residence, alleged co-conspirators Ven. Omalpe Sobitha, accompanied by Senior Professor of the Sinhala Faculty at the Colombo University, Ven. Agalakada Sirisumana, health sector trade union leader Ravi Kumudesh, and several Catholic priests, arrived at the Speaker’s residence where they repeated the Indian High Commissioner’s offer. Abeywardena repeated his previous response despite Sobitha Thera acting in a threatening manner towards him to accept their dirty offer. Shouldn’t they all be investigated in line with a comprehensive probe?

Ex-President Wickremesinghe with a copy of Aragalaye Balaya he received from its author, Prof. Professor Sunanda Maddumabandara, at the Sri Lanka Foundation recently (pic by Nishan S Priyantha)

On the basis of what Abeywardena had disclosed to him, Maddumabanadara also questioned the circumstances of the deployment of the elite Special Task Force (STF) contingent at the compound. The author asked whether that deployment, without the knowledge of the Speaker, took place with the intervention of Baglay.

Aragalaye Balaya

is a must read for those who are genuinely interested in knowing the unvarnished truth. Whatever the deficiencies and inadequacies on the part of the Gotabaya Rajapaksa administration, external powers had engineered a change of government. The writer discussed the issues that had been raised by Prof. Maddumabandara and, in response to one specific query, the author asserted that in spite of India offering support to Gotabaya Rajapaksa earlier to get Ranil Wickremesinghe elected as the President by Parliament to succeed him , the latter didn’t agree with the move. Then both the US and India agreed to bring in the Speaker as the Head of State, at least for an interim period.

If Speaker Abeywardena accepted the offer made by India, on behalf of those backing the dastardly US backed project, the country could have experienced far reaching changes and the last presidential election may not have been held in September, 2004.

After the conclusion of his extraordinary assignment in Colombo, Baglay received appointment as New Delhi’s HC in Canberra. Before Colombo, Baglay served in Indian missions in Ukraine, Russia, the United Kingdom, Nepal and Pakistan (as Deputy High Commissioner).

Baglay served in New Delhi, in the office of the Prime Minister of India, and in the Ministry of External Affairs as its spokesperson, and in various other positions related to India’s ties with her neighbours, Europe and multilateral organisations.

Wouldn’t it be interesting to examine who deceived Weerawansa and Thoradeniya who identified US Ambassador Chung as the secret visitor to the Speaker’s residence. Her high-profile role in support of the project throughout the period 31 March to end of July, 2022, obviously made her an attractive target but the fact remains it was Baglay who brought pressure on the then Speaker. Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena’s clarification has given a new twist to “Aragalaya’ and India’s diabolical role.

Absence of investigations

Sri Lanka never really wanted to probe the foreign backed political plot to seize power by extra-parliamentary means. Although some incidents had been investigated, the powers that be ensured that the overall project remained uninvestigated. In fact, Baglay’s name was never mentioned regarding the developments, directly or indirectly, linked to the devious political project. If not for Prof. Maddumabandara taking trouble to deal with the contentious issue of regime change, Baglay’s role may never have come to light. Ambassador Chung would have remained the target of all those who found fault with US interventions. Let me be clear, the revelation of Baglay’s clandestine meeting with the Speaker didn’t dilute the role played by the US in Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s removal.

If Prof. Maddumabandara propagated lies, both the author and Abeywardana should be appropriately dealt with. Aragalaye Balaya failed to receive the desired or anticipated public attention. Those who issue media statements at the drop of a hat conveniently refrained from commenting on the Indian role. Even Abeywardena remained silent though he could have at least set the record straight after Ambassador Chung was accused of secretly meeting the Speaker. Abeywardena could have leaked the information through media close to him. Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Ranil Wickremesinghe, too, could have done the same but all decided against revealing the truth.

A proper investigation should cover the period beginning with the declaration made by Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s government, in April 2022, regarding the unilateral decision to suspend debt repayment. But attention should be paid to the failure on the part of the government to decide against seeking assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to overcome the crisis. Those who pushed Gotabaya Rajapaksa to adopt, what they called, a domestic solution to the crisis created the environment for the ultimate collapse that paved the way for external interventions. Quite large and generous Indian assistance provided to Sri Lanka at that time should be examined against the backdrop of a larger frightening picture. In other words, India was literally running with the sheep while hunting with the hounds. Whatever the criticism directed at India over its role in regime change operation, prompt, massive and unprecedented post-Cyclone Ditwah assistance, provided by New Delhi, saved Sri Lanka. Rapid Indian response made a huge impact on Sri Lanka’s overall response after having failed to act on a specific 12 November weather alert.

It would be pertinent to mention that all governments, and the useless Parliament, never wanted the public to know the truth regarding regime change project. Prof. Maddumabandara discussed the role played by vital sections of the armed forces, lawyers and the media in the overall project that facilitated external operations to force Gotabaya Rajapaksa out of office. The author failed to question Wickremesinghe’s failure to launch a comprehensive investigation, with the backing of the SLPP, immediately after he received appointment as the President. There seems to be a tacit understanding between Wickremesinghe and the SLPP that elected him as the President not to initiate an investigation. Ideally, political parties represented in Parliament should have formed a Special Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) to investigate the developments during 2019 to the end of 2022. Those who had moved court against the destruction of their property, during the May 2022 violence directed at the SLPP, quietly withdrew that case on the promise of a fresh comprehensive investigation. This assurance given by the Wickremesinghe government was meant to bring an end to the judicial process.

When the writer raised the need to investigate external interventions, the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) sidestepped the issue. Shame on the so-called independent commission, which shows it is anything but independent.

Sumanthiran’s proposal

Since the eradication of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in May 2009, the now defunct Tamil National Alliance’s (TNA) priority had been convincing successive governments to withdraw the armed forces/ substantially reduce their strength in the Northern and Eastern Provinces. The Illankai Thamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK)-led TNA, as well as other Tamil political parties, Western powers, civil society, Tamil groups, based overseas, wanted the armed forces out of the N and E regions.

Abeywardena also revealed how the then ITAK lawmaker, M.A. Sumanthiran, during a tense meeting chaired by him, in Parliament, also on 13 July, 2022, proposed the withdrawal of the armed forces from the N and E for redeployment in Colombo. The author, without hesitation, alleged that the lawmaker was taking advantage of the situation to achieve their longstanding wish. The then Speaker also disclosed that Chief Opposition Whip Lakshman Kiriella and other party leaders leaving the meeting as soon as the armed forces reported the protesters smashing the first line of defence established to protect the Parliament. However, leaders of minority parties had remained unruffled as the situation continued to deteriorate and external powers stepped up efforts to get rid of both Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Ranil Wickremesinghe to pave the way for an administration loyal and subservient to them. Foreign powers seemed to have been convinced that Speaker Abeywardena was the best person to run the country, the way they wanted, or till the Aragalaya mob captured the House.

The Author referred to the role played by the media, including social media platforms, to promote Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s successor. Maddumamabandara referred to the Hindustan Times coverage to emphasise the despicable role played by a section of the media to manipulate the rapid developments that were taking place. The author also dealt with the role played by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) in the project with the focus on how that party intensified its actions immediately after Gotabaya Rajapaksa stepped down.

Disputed assessment

The Author identified Ministers Bimal Rathnayaka, Sunil Handunetti and K.D. Lal Kantha as the persons who spearheaded the JVP bid to seize control of Parliament. Maddumabanda unflinchingly compared the operation, mounted against Gotabaya Rajapaksa, with the regime change operations carried out in Iraq, Libya, Egypt and Ukraine. Asserting that governments loyal to the US-led Western block had been installed in those countries, the author seemed to have wrongly assumed that external powers failed to succeed in Sri Lanka (pages 109 and 110). That assertion is utterly wrong. Perhaps, the author for some unexplained reasons accepted what took place here. Nothing can be further from the truth than the regime change operation failed (page 110) due to the actions of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana and Ranil Wickremesinghe. In case, the author goes for a second print, he should seriously consider making appropriate corrections as the current dispensation pursues an agenda in consultation with the US and India.

The signing of seven Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with India, including one on defence, and growing political-defence-economic ties with the US, have underscored that the JVP-led National People’s Power (NPP) may not have been the first choice of the US-India combine but it is certainly acceptable to them now.

The bottom line is that a democratically elected President, and government, had been ousted through unconstitutional means and Sri Lanka meekly accepted that situation without protest. In retrospect, the political party system here has been subverted and changed to such an extent, irreparable damage has been caused to public confidence. External powers have proved that Sri Lanka can be influenced at every level, without exception, and the 2022 ‘Aragalaya’ is a case in point. The country is in such a pathetic state, political parties represented in Parliament and those waiting for an opportunity to enter the House somehow at any cost remain vulnerable to external designs and influence.

Cyclone Ditwah has worsened the situation. The country has been further weakened with no hope of early recovery. Although the death toll is much smaller compared to that of the 2004 tsunami, economic devastation is massive and possibly irreversible and irreparable.

By Shamindra Ferdinando